I returned my attention to Dougie then tumbled away, only now understanding what he meant.
Dougie's lips parted, his chest and stomach undulated in a strange belly dance. Just like the last time, that black, fluid-like mist leaked from his mouth. The dark miasma hovered over our heads, churning and gathering power. Then I saw that beautiful, amber gleam in the center, and I knew Tobias had escaped. I had no idea what would happen when it reunited with the body in the freezer, but it coasted above me with malicious intent.
“Don't anyone move. Stay right where you are!” Ruiz ordered, followed by racing footsteps.
“He's leaving the body!” Caleb yelled at the men then removed his coat and gave it to Mia to use. “Cover your mouth. Don't breathe any of the air until I say.”
“Caleb, do it now!” I yelled.
He dashed back toward the parking area. Ruiz raced after him, but he was a bit out of his element, because the one thing Cake Boy could do well was run. Caleb stopped a few feet from the truck and knelt down to the ground as if to tie his shoe. A fire ignited instantly to the rope that lay by his feet. The fire ate at the line in seconds, snaked its way toward the truck and climbed up the side of the freezer. The flame erupted in a radiant ball, illuminating the entire campground.
The inferno reached up to the trees and twirled coils of black smoke at its fingertips. The sound coming out of the fire echoed in a cacophony of screams and wails of torment. It could have been the distance, but the sound seemed to pale in comparison to the noise over my head.
The black cloud had spread wide, reaching at least five yards in diameter. It didn't move or fly away, but flared up and stirred into itself, like an evil spell backfiring onto its caster. The wind slapped my face and blinded me, and the thunderous grind of metal and hellish cries made my blood congeal. This thing, this soul, this life was dying in the worst way imaginable.
“Everyone cover your mouths, now!” Ruiz ordered his crew.
I stole a glance at the four other men with aqua blue flashes in their eyes. They must have been Cambion siblings. That was a good thing. The only person we had to worry about was Ruiz. He was the only male non-Cambion in company. But he seemed to know the score
,
because he also covered his mouth.
The rumbling grew and sent the ground around us into a tremor. The cloud above expanded and bloated as a real cloud would as it collects water. It became so solid that if I touched it, it would burst. The gold beacon, the nucleus of the organism, had ruptured and sent cracks zigzagging through the darkness. The squiggling gold veins divided the cloud into fractions and pulled apart the pieces with what sounded like torn fabric. With one last inhuman howl, the mist began to dissolve and the sky and its host of stars revealed themselves again. Silence reigned over the park for a full minute while my ears tried to adjust to the noise level.
The twitching body near my foot drew my attention back to important matters. I knelt next to Dougie and held his head in my hands. He was cold and his skin was drying out from the drops of life seeping from his body.
“No! No, Dougie, please stay here. Dougie!” Mia's screams were nothing more than delayed echoes in the background, along with the ringing in my ears. I held Dougie's twitching body as the spasms began to subside.
Behind fluttering lashes, his red, unfocused eyes rolled up to meet Mia's. He seemed to recognize her, and for a second he looked as though he were about to smile. But it never came and his eyes slid closed. He wasn't twitching anymore. He was very still, getting heavier in my arms like dead weight. No, not dead. Not Dougie. Not yet.
There was no time, no second-guessing, and no guarantee that this would work, but I had to try. Against my better judgment, I needed to cast my animosity aside and trust Lilith. She owed me. I wanted my pound of flesh and I was ready to collect. We would be even, all debts paid, if she saved my friend.
Lilith. You have screwed me over raw and you know it. If you have any intention of redeeming yourself, I need you to help me and do as I say.
My plan might've been crazy, maybe suicidal, but not impossible. I did it with Caleb while he was in a coma, but never this far. If what Olivia said was true, that giving energy would've saved Nadine, then I would make atonement through Dougie. It was a good theory, and the only way to learn was through trial and error.
I shook my shoulders loose, let out a breath, and lowered my mouth to Dougie's. His lips felt cold and dry, devoid of the gentle vibration that came with each living being.
“Sam, what are you doing?” Mia called out behind me.
I centered my concentration on Lilith and allowed the energy to flow out of me in a warm gush. I hadn't realized how tense I was until my body uncoiled and loosened under the release. The energy escaped and with it, live green wires pulsed behind my eyelids.
“Sam, don't!” Caleb yelled somewhere in the distance. “No. Let me go! She'll die! Dammit get off me! Samara!” There were sounds of a struggle and sprinting feet, but I tuned it out.
Heaviness overwhelmed me and I was losing feeling in my legs and arms. It could've been from the cold, but something more than warmth bled from me. The numbness started on my left arm then channeled up my shoulder to my chest. The sharp, stabbing pain just under my ribs told me what was happening. It was what happened for most donors when too much energy was taken. An iron hand had gripped my heart in a fist.
“Samara, stop!” Someone had yelled.
I could feel the tears leaking down my face and across the bridge of my nose, but I gave all that I could. I would give more until there was nothing left.
Screams rode the air and arms pulled at me, but I held on. I clung tight to Dougie's waist until there was no more strength in my arms and I had no choice but to let go. My lips broke from his, and with it, the last bit of my energy passed into his mouth. Slowly as if in a dream, Dougie's chest jerked, sending a rolling motion up his body until a gasp escaped his mouth in a fog. His eyes, wide and free of ethereal light, gaped in stunned terror at the stars.
I could no longer hold myself up. I knew death was coming to make another surprise visit and I didn't have the strength to fight. I felt my body falling, but I didn't hit the ground. I looked up and saw Caleb staring back at me, his eyes wild and swimming with tears. Flashing blue lights speared through the trees, but all I saw was the sad boy in front of me.
“Samara, please.” I could see his mouth forming the words, but I lay deaf, dumb, and paralyzed in his arms. Caleb's lips met mine, but I had no feeling left to enjoy it fully. Turmoil and firelight grew around us while we found refuge in a place made of violet and emerald hues. But even they too faded, and the darkness came to swallow the world, and take me with it.
21
A
s I'd said before, these blackouts that I kept having were getting worse. Much, much worse.
What happened between 8 P.M. and 3:07 A.M. was wiped from memory. Instead of the war zone of the rec park, I was now at home, in my room, lying on my side in bed. Thankfully, I wasn't glued to the ceiling this time and my bracelet was still on my wrist. However, there was an addition to this scene and it snored softly next to my ear.
I turned my head as far as I could. Caleb lay behind me in a spooning position, breathing into my hair. His arm draped over my stomach with the slightest of pressure. I wasn't sure why, but moving wasn't a good idea. It was as if I were magnetized, surgically stitched to his body, and pulling away too far would cause tearing.
“You're awake,” a voice called from the doorway.
I found Mom standing in the entryway, holding a glass of juice. As expected, she looked torn up and sleepless. Her freckled face was free of makeup, heavy gray bags hung under her eyes, and her hair fell loose in a soft fro of brown curls.
“How did I get here?” I asked.
She stepped into the room to place the glass on the nightstand. “David and his men brought you here. They said there was no need for you to go to the hospital as long as you two weren't separated.” The glass shook in her hands as her stare drifted between me and Caleb. “I have no idea what that means, but whenever we tried . . . I, um . . . It's just better that he stays with you tonight.”
And she was cool with that? Something was wrong. I looked down at her shaking hands and then to the dark red blotches in the shape of fingers around her forearm. “Mom, what happened? Did someone hurt you?”
Julie Marshall was a woman of many looks, all of them honest and animated. And of all of them, this one made my heart clench. There was nothing I could say or do to take the fear out of her eyes.
“She's made it clear that you two need each other to heal, so I . . . it's best that you do whatever it is you do.”
She? “Lilith did that?” Her silence was all the confirmation I needed. Mom had heard about my roommate, had the details explained ad nauseam, but she never had a formal introduction. It was clear the meeting didn't go well and had Mom scared to death. I couldn't believe Lilith broke loose again. Why would she hurt Mom, of all people? “I'm so sorry. I didn't . . .”
“I know. I shouldn't have tried to pull you apart. She warned me, but I didn't understand.” Her gaze drifted past me, past the room, past her comprehension. “You're bound to each other now, aren't you? That's why she didn't want you to separate. That's how you're still alive even after killing Tobias.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Being bound together trumps anything else, I guess, like rock beats scissors.”
She lifted her head, her glistening eyes met mine with a look so broken that it made my own eyes prickle. “Too soon. It's too soon,” she mumbled over and over. “I tried to keep you from making the same mistakes as I did, but you're as stubborn as I was at your age. One careless night will affect the rest of your life.”
“I'm so sorry. The last thing I'd ever do is hurt you. You believe me, right?”
I could tell she was having trouble accepting my apology. I couldn't blame her. I had aged this woman fifty years in the span of six months and every minute of it showed through her watery blue eyes. That wall she built to keep the monsters at bay had come crashing down, and the burden of our situation was more real, more present.
She was quiet, but a tangle of emotion crawled under her skin. “I understand. I don't like it, but I understand. I just wish there was another way. I can't protect you from this and I hate it.”
I reached my hand as far as it could go for hers. She took it and squeezed, and the fear seemed to run down her arm and up mine. The sensation made my lips quiver and tears leaked down my temple. “I shouldn't have told you. Any of it. What I was, or what was happening.”
“And have me go through this blind? No. You did the right thing. I may not like what I know, but at least I know what I'm facing.”
“Did you call Dad?” I asked, bracing myself for the answer.
Mom sighed and slumped her shoulders as if the thought of Dad crippled her strength. “It's better that he doesn't know about this. He would not even begin to tolerate it. I thought it was best that he knew, but after what I saw tonight, I don't think so. Your father would kill Caleb, and that might be a problem.”
I nodded and rested my head on the pillow. “Are Dougie and Mia safe?”
“Yeah. Douglas went to the hospital and Mia's at home. Ruiz is trying to get everything sorted out with the park and removing the remains. He wants to keep you two out of trouble with the police, so he got you out of there first.”
“Tobias is really gone? It worked, right?”
She nodded and I had no idea why that made me sad. Or maybe it was just a by-product of Lilith's grief. I realized that I wasn't the only one who almost died. In a way, a part of her did die. She was very still now, most of her weight spread evenly along my back and skull. I thought it best not to confront her now.
“Get some rest. We can talk later.” Mom kissed my forehead then reached over to turn off the lamp, but I caught her hand.
“Leave the light on, please.”
She didn't question me and backed out of the room, leaving the door cracked.
“Is she gone?” Caleb whispered in my ear.
Wrapped in his arms, I rolled over to see him fully. He looked like a ghoul with pale hollow cheeks and dark circles under his eyes. A huge, multi-colored bruise covered the entire left side of his face and a dark red gash split his lip. “You look like hell,” I said.
As he closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curled upward, but he was too weak to form a complete smile. “You're no super model either. How are you?” he asked, his voice hoarse with sleep.
“Ask me tomorrow,” I grumbled. “It turns out our mission was accomplished. Dougie's alive and Williamsburg faces another dawn free of demons.” When he nodded, I asked, “I gave Dougie almost all of my energy. How were you able to save me?”
“We're bonded, Sam. We keep each other alive. Even when you're on the brink of death, Lilith will cling to Capone for help. That's how I survived my coma; why not return the favor.” His shoulder twitched in a light shrug. “My eating disorder came in handy tonight. I had enough for us both.”
“Yeah well, I still want you to cut back. I don't want you bingeing anymore.”
“I know. I think things'll be better now. I won't have to compensate. We'll still have to feed on others, but not as often.”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn't feel it in my room the other night?” he asked.
“I felt a lot of things that night; you might wanna be more specific,” I replied.
He chuckled, then sucked in a sharp breath in a hiss. Almost instantly, soreness flared in my chest.
“Don't make me laugh; it hurts too much,” he said. “Our spirits feed off energy and respond to the emotion of others. The purest, most concentrated form is sexual energy. Think about it; it's where life originates, right? There's power behind it that I won't even try to understand. Incubi and succubi thrive on it and their method of feeding is what's made them famous for centuries.”
I tried to follow, but I wasn't doing a good job. “So we don't need other people's energy as much because . . .”
“We can make our own,” he finished.
“Is this your elaborate way to get me to sleep with you again?”
His eyebrows rose and he lifted his head from the pillow with apparent interest. “Why, is it working?”
“No.”
His head fell back onto the pillow. “You always say that, but I end up getting my way. You said I'd never feed from you; I did. You said I'd never kiss you again; I did. You said that I'd never have to fight you off me; now look at you.” He actually smiled this time.
I made a face at him, and though his eyes were closed, I knew he could feel my angry glare. “No matter what, it always comes down to us getting it on. Maybe it's a sign.”
“I don't believe in signs or some fate written in the stars. Soul mate is an action not a title; it's not what you are but what you become. I wasn't born in this exact point in time just to meet you, but I'd die to keep you with me.” He kissed my nose and with elegance to rival all love sonnets, he said, “Put out that light. I'm sleepy.”
The thought of being in the dark made my skin tingle. “Would it bother you if I left it on?”
“It's okay, Sam. There's nothing waiting for you in the dark but me. I won't let anything happen to you. I've got you.”
At his statement, my skin really did tingle, but for an entirely different reason. When I reached over the side of the bed to click off the light, I saw a white index card propped against the lamp. Immediately I knew who it came from. This message was shorter with even messier handwriting than the last one. The ink bled from each line and dragged across the paper, giving the impression of spastic hands and scrambled thoughts. But I could make out the letters enough to read what it said.
Samara,
You got your pound of flesh.
We're even.
Lilith
I knew it was hard for her to sit back and watch her old mate die. And there was a small ounce of pity still left inside me, stored away in case of emergencies. I closed my eyes, centered on Lilith for any response, and offered my condolences if she needed it. But there was no movement inside, which meant “No.” That was fine by me. She had said her piece, and I was too tired to respond anyway.
I dropped the card back on the table, clicked off the light, then rolled back into Caleb's arms. Out of some subconscious reflex, he trapped me in his arms and squeezed his favorite pillow.
The hallway light leaked into the room and I was somewhat thankful that Mom had left the door open, but I was sure she did it for other reasons. Even if it was locked with no one home, we were too beat down to do anything but snuggle. And it was just as satisfying. There was peace there that had been missing for months, lost for so long that I'd forgotten it was ever there. I was his security blanket, the familiar face that kept the beast calm and made the voices go quiet. Stability.
“Yeah, you've got me all right,” I replied in the dark, but he was already asleep.